Turning 12 in South Africa

Living on the road has been about ease and everyday simplicity that I didn’t have the luxury to experience back home.

Above all that translates in me not getting worked up about anything and about making do with less. In the past for example our kids’ birthdays never failed to knock me off balance because of the stress connected to throwing a birthday party. Crazy, right? It is supposed to be easy – sugar up the kids and leave them running around till they drop dead from exhaustion. Well, I am afraid the exhaustion always got to me faster and I seldom enjoyed the messy overstimulated craziness that I had myself orchestrated voluntarily out of love.

This time around B’s birthday was a day like any other, yet it was colored by subtle but palpable joy reserved for special occasions. Miraculously we found ourselves in Nieu Bethesda – a small but vibrant art colony tucked in the desert like landscape of the Karroo. We propped our tent across the local brewery and let the relaxed charm of the village wash over us.

Above is the Sculptor’s Studio across the street that housed a small pack of dogs and cats who crossed the road to lick our breakfast bowls clean. The studio also had a small shop attached to it full of artsy knick knacks and rasta hats knitted by the local grandmas.

The brewery was next door. There we had the best home made rosemary bread, stinging nettle cheese and honey ale. This place was so cozy that we had trouble leaving it. It wasn’t just for the sunflowers in the garden and the big bed swing and the puppies and the swimming pool and the waitress who was tattooing a dude with a mohawk in between orders but also because of the friendly owner who had the best selection of books to browse through.

Below is the main drag. ‘Dustcovers’ was the bookshop in which we lost track of time. The owners got me and Kuba tipsy on white wine and slipped in a few excellent books by South African writers for us to read. The kids were content to spend the whole day flipping through novels and again we had trouble moving on.

Strolling the streets was a pleasure. We passed by the Post Office

Lovely shops full of locally made art and houses along broad dusty alleys

The village pub. Have you seen a cozier drinking hole?

Sheep cheese, bread and salad for lunch

The shady streets led us to the desert like landscape outside Neui Bethesda. Its bright and naked beauty was in stark contrast to the leafy green of the village, yet both turned magical when the afternoon light washed them generously in gold.

The perfect ending of the day was the chocolate cake at a small local eatery baked by the neighbor across the road. It didn’t matter that the wind kept blowing the candle off. We lady of the place brought her whole family out to sing Happy Birthday to B and then joined us with charming ease that I find utterly seductive about South Africans.

Content we walked through the dark sleepy village back to our tent. The next day we had trouble saying good bye to this magical little oasis of friendly charming homey artistic folks. Instead we lingered for another day.

~ M